


i'll take a rain-check on these feelings, if you don't mind.

by aroundu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Coming of Age, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gen, Happy Ending, Hinata-centric, Hurt/Comfort, Light Music Club Family, M/M, Self-Destructive Tendencies, Takes place during !!, i swear it's goofy and funny okay, these tags make it seem sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23503696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroundu/pseuds/aroundu
Summary: Hinata Aoi is ready to start his second year at Yumenosaki Academy with a hastily-patched together relationship with his brother and unresolved anxieties from the year before, content to let these problems figure themselves out while he focused on making 2wink the best unit in the world.But then he meets Hiiro Amagi.And doesn't that just throw a wrench in all of Hinata's plans.
Relationships: Aoi Hinata & Aoi Yuuta, Aoi Hinata/Amagi Hiiro
Comments: 11
Kudos: 34





	i'll take a rain-check on these feelings, if you don't mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I just have some very important notes before you begin this beast of a fic sooo.  
> Some disclaimers: I wrote a majority of this before !! was out. This means I didn't know the Amagi lore, or any of the dorm situations. So, I made the assumption that Hinata and Yuuta are rooming together. This fic is Hinata-centric and I was trying to explore how his second-year interactions would be, and how his relationship with Yuuta has changed post-Setsubun. The tags make this seem overly sad but I think it's more goofy than that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this!

With just a weekend before his second year of high school starting, Hinata had much to plan. The first year of 2wink’s debut was successful; 2wink had grown a name for itself around Yumenosaki and now, during their second year, it was time to grow even bigger, and start making an impact in the idol world. They could get real idol jobs and opportunities, instead of the part-time crumbs no one else wanted, like helping the fishermen clean fish on the pier or cleaning the disastrous auditorium after big events, Hinata did for the majority of last year.

To make sure 2wink would have a big, explosive year, Hinata needed to be ready from the get-go. He’d already checked ahead on the schedule for upcoming events and thought about which ones would be best suited for the skills of 2wink. He took extra care sorting through the events and opportunities, since he made a promise to Yuuta that he’d involve him in the managerial proceedings of their unit, he wanted his listings to be organized and filled with only the best options.

Although Hinata worried that it may take more time to come to decisions between the two of them, it was easy enough to get things checked over by Yuuta. All he had to do was neatly fold his paper of notes into an airplane and whisk it over to the other side of the dorm room.

Yuuta lounged on his bed holding a DS, likely playing Pokémon if Hinata were to judge based on the upbeat music coming from it, and looked up when the paper airplane soared past his head, hitting the wall and falling onto his bed.

“Is it really so much of a hassle to walk it over?” Yuuta huffed as he unfolded the paper and began scanning over it.

“I don’t see any problem! It got over just fine, didn’t it?”

Yuuta glanced over with narrowed eyes. “One time it isn’t going to make it over and then I’m going to have to get up to get it.”

Hinata hummed noncommittally and checked the time on his phone. Hopping off his bed, he went to the closet and looked for his pair of bright pink crocs.

“I’ll be right back. Tomoe-senpai wanted to see me.”

“Did you already get in trouble? We’ve only been moved in for three days, Aniki…” 

“Nothing like that! He just wanted to talk. To~ta~ly casual. No scolding, he isn’t Itsuki-senpai, y’know?” Hinata slid the crocs on and walked to the door.

Yuuta rolled his eyes. “Alright, I’ll look over this and let you know what I think later.”

With a wave, Hinata left the dorm. The Cosmic Production dorms were rather nice; the sleek black walls reminded him of a hotel, even with various CosPro idol posters covering the walls. Their old room back at their dad’s house was bigger, but within three days Hinata felt so much more at home here than he ever did in that house.

Hinata didn’t know what to make of Hiyori when he first met him. He heard that he was once in a unit with Eichi, so Hinata worried at first that Hiyori may not be a fan of him since he did try to tackle Eichi that one time, but if Hiyori had any problems with that, he hadn’t said anything. In fact, Hiyori seemed to be rather kind to him and Yuuta: patting their heads in greeting when they first moved in, smiling and waving whenever their paths crossed.

There was no telling what this meeting was about. The words were brief but based on the amount of cute emoticons Hiyori used when asking Hinata to meet up, he doubted it could be anything serious. The meeting location was a lounge type area on the other side of the building that he hadn’t visited yet, so he didn’t have a good idea of where he was going.

A few wrong turns later, and Hinata found himself back close to where he started. He didn’t think the building could loop like this, yet he returned to the sign that pointed in the direction of the dorm rooms where he had started.

However, different from a few minutes before was the presence of a boy looking just as lost as he did, one hand on the back of his head and the other pointing in different directions. He turned around at the sound of Hinata’s crocs squeaking against the floor and Hinata took a pause at seeing his face.

He’d only seen Rinne in the Crazy:B posters around the building and had yet to be formally introduced to him, and the dark red hair and vibrant blue eyes were unmistakable. Yet, there was something off about him; Rinne was big, taller than Rei, but this boy was smaller than that and less imposing.

“Amagi-san? You’ve shrunk?!”

The boy lowered his arms and blinked at him. “Huuh? I haven’t shrunk!”

“You have! The Amagi-san I know is _huge_! You’re, well you are taller than me, but not by much!” Hinata squinted at this faux-Rinne. “Unless, Amagi-san is just photoshopped to look so big?” Even the boy’s hair was shorter, but maybe Rinne just got a haircut?

“Oh, you must be talking about my brother, Rinne.” The boy raised a hand towards himself. “I’m his brother, Hiiro.”

Hinata felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. This happened all the time to him and Yuuta, so for Hinata to make a mistake like this was some cruel irony. A bad first impression too- what if Hiiro tells his brother about how airheaded Hinata was? That’d be a disaster. Hinata was trying hard to be responsible this year and earn the respect of his peers so 2wink’s reputation could improve.

“Oh, I see~ Sorry for the confusion, I’m Hinata Aoi.” Hinata grinned and thankfully with enough practice of faking smiles, it should hide his awkwardness.

Hiiro looked unbothered and shrugged. “It’s fine, strong genetics and all.” He took a step closer to Hinata and poked at his arms. “So, Aoi, are you an idol here?”

Hinata jumped when Hiiro poked him and in return he poked the boy’s forehead. “Yup! I’m the leader of 2wink, a unit of me and my brother Yuuta-kun. We’re gonna become super popular, so be thankful you get to talk to me now, ~kay?”

Booming laughter came from Hiiro, making Hinata jump with surprise. Hiiro laughed so hard he doubled over to hold his stomach, and Hinata looked around trying to find what could make him laugh this much, but there was nothing remarkable around. This was reaching an unreasonable amount of time for laughter, especially one as unprompted as this...

It went on until Hiiro’s laughs were replaced with coughs and he pounded a fist to his chest to clear his throat. Hinata raised a hand out warily, unsure of what was happening or if he should help. After taking a few deep breaths, Hiiro stood up straight again with a face red enough to match his hair.

“Umm. Was something I said that funny?” Hinata questioned.

Hiiro snorted and threw an arm around Hinata’s shoulder. From how familiar he was acting, Hinata would have feared that they knew each other from somewhere, but since they introduced themselves earlier, this was most certainly their first meeting. Hinata was one for physical affection with his friends, but this was a stranger to him.

“Yeah. It’s hilarious how you think idols will be around past this year. The age of idols is over!”

Hiiro’s other arm was raised in the air as if he and Hinata were celebrating some grand victory, but what he said had Hinata reeling.

“Huh?!”

“Well, my brother and I are gonna bring this whole industry down! Bye-bye idols, hahaha!” 

The words were absurd, but if this stupid red-haired boy thought he could do anything to stop 2wink’s dreams then he had a big storm coming.

“Hey, what’s your problem? You’re joking right?” Hinata threw Hiiro’s arm off his shoulder and took a step back to glare at him. “There’s no way you’re being serious right now.”

Hiiro tilted his head, looking surprised as if he wasn’t the crazy one here. “It’s not a joke. We’re really gonna take down the idol industry.”

“Well, you can’t. Not while I’m around. This is 2wink’s dream, and I won’t let some lame-o take it away from us.” Hinata crossed his arms. “Get real.”

“Aoi, trust me. Idols are nothing but bad news, everything will be better when they are gone” A ding sounded from Hiiro’s pocket and he pulled out his phone. “Ah, I gotta get going. Let’s talk again soon, Aoi!”

Hiiro answered the phone and trotted off as he talked into it, complaining that he got lost. Hinata huffed and hoped he got lost forever and never found where he was trying to go, doomed to a life inside a supplies closet eating trash bags for sustenance.

Hinata didn’t find himself getting angry a lot, but something about Hiiro’s ignorant glee rubbed him the wrong way. He would prove the stupid boy wrong. To make fun of Hinata’s dream, his brother’s dream, all his friends from Yumenosaki’s dreams, Hinata would put him in his place.

A vibration in Hinata’s pocket brought him out of his internal fuming, and he unlocked his phone with a harder than necessary typing of his pin and opened a text from Hiyori asking where he was. Hinata sighed as he typed a short apology for running late and that he’d be there in a few and tried once again to find his way to the lounge.

Hiiro Amagi… He better watch out.

* * *

“It was nice of Tomoe-san to let us have his old laptop. This model looks really new though, so I wonder why he got a new one?”

Yuuta examined the laptop from different angles. It was something the twins could only dream of affording: a thin sleek surface laptop with a touchscreen.

“Uh-huh. Super nice of him,” Hinata replied without care. He sat on his bed filing his nails. His normal routine consisted of filing his nails into a rounded look, but tonight he had the urge to sharpen them into points.

Yuuta opened the laptop and waited for it to boot up. “I hope you said thank you, Aniki.”

“I did.” One hand done, onto the next.

Next time he saw Hiiro he was going to take him down. Hinata would never mess around with Rinne, that’s a fight he wouldn’t win, but Hiiro only had 2 inches max on him. Hinata’s been roughed up before too; once he had to chase a robber who stole the twin’s change from a street show and kick him until he gave it back.

“Aniki.”

A fight of the century. Maybe he should ask Tetora for some advice beforehand though, just to be certain of his victory. Hinata’s flexibility was good, so he could throw in a bunch of different types of kicks for sure, and Hiiro would never see a roundhouse kick coming.

“ _Aniki_!” Yuuta pinched Hinata’s arm causing him to drop the nail file with a gasp. He rubbed his arm and glared at Yuuta.

“What was that for!?”

“What are you so mad about? I’m trying to have a conversation here.” Yuuta plucked the nail file from the bed and set it out of reach. “Stop sharpening your nails, it’s weird.”

“Oh, why are you still so rebellious? You can’t just boss me around.” Hinata reached for the file and Yuuta shooed his hand away.

“Answer my question. Or this ‘oh so rebellious brother’ is going to go find someone else to room with.”

Hinata groaned and flopped back on his bed. “Did you know Amagi-san has a brother? He’s the worst person I’ve ever met. He’s so full of it, I just wanted to fight right then and there.”

Yuuta hummed and hopped onto the bed next to Hinata.. “I thought Amagi-san looked pretty fun. Is his brother stuck up or something?”

“Hiiro-kun went on and on about how ‘i’m going to end the idol industry!’ Like, who does he think he is? Stupid no-name thinking he’s so powerful. Gah! It makes me mad.” Hinata grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his chest. He felt so restless, and he was tempted to start running through the hallways. Or do flips through them. Anything to get this energy out.

“Who cares what he says? We’ll focus on making 2wink the best unit there is. The idol industry won’t die, not while we’re here.” The laptop made a start-up noise and Yuuta jumped off Hinata’s bed to go start messing with it.

“Ugh. He was so stupidly passionate about it too. You could see it in his eyes. He and Amagi-san really do look related. Same intense blue eyes. Red hair. Hiiro-kun’s was shorter though, better than that sloppy look Amagi-san has.”

Yuuta paused in his typing but before he could speak Hinata continued, “like it was an okay haircut. A bit choppy but in a cute way. It frames his face really well. His _stupid_ face. Did I mention he laughed when I said we were idols? An unfairly robust laugh. Super confident for someone that’s going to be crushed.”

“Wait, what-“

“Ugh! And he acted like we were friends or something? He threw his arm around me and was talking on and on, and I know it’s something that I would do, but when he did it, it was _malicious_! Like he was taunting me! Whatever, I’m so over it.”

“Oh my god.”

Hinata looked over at Yuuta in concern. “What? Is something wrong with the laptop?”

Yuuta studied Hinata with raised eyebrows, a smirk rising on to his face. Hinata lifted himself off his bed and pursed his lips, wondering why his brother looked so mischievous. 

“What?! Don’t just look all weird. C’mon, spill!”

“You don’t even hear the words coming out of your mouth. You sound like you’re two seconds from jumping him-”

“I am!” Hinata shot off from his bed, throwing his hands in the air. He was so ready to jump Hiiro and beat him up in an alley!

“Let me clarify.” Yuuta bit the inside of his cheek, something Hinata knew he did when he was trying to keep from laughing. “Two seconds from jumping _on_ him and being carried away on some honeymoon.”

Hinata’s mouth dropped open at his brother’s ridiculous claim. His face burned, in rage not embarrassment! This was a huge misunderstanding; Hiiro was an _enemy_ , not some boy Hinata was crushing on. They only interacted one time, and it was horrible and in no way left any sort of good impression in Hinata’s mind. That’d be crazy. If Hinata ever saw him again, then he’d deck him because Hinata would still hate him no matter what.

“I- That’s not true! You’re making things up. You have no idea what you’re talking about, Yuuta-kun. You’re just a hopeless romantic, so don’t go spouting off your dumb ideas.”

Yuuta’s smirk widened in response. Hinata clenched his fist.

“Shut up!”

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“We’re twins. I know what you want to say.”

“Like how I know you want to say ‘oh, Hiiro-kun~ Your eyes are so beautiful, won’t you please let me look into them forever.’”

Hinata’s face scrunched up and he resisted the urge to gag. He didn’t need this treatment. Betrayed by his own brother. The audacity of him.

“I’m leaving!” 

Yuuta snickered. “Gonna go looking for Hiiro-kun? He’s probably still here, so good luck~”

Hinata ignored his brother’s words and stormed out of the room. He was going to go to the nearest practice room and do as many consecutive flips as possible. Or maybe work on some basic contortion stuff. Yeah… If he did that then Hiiro would get scared of him and know the true talent he was messing with.

There was no possible way Hinata thought of Hiiro in any light other than pure evil. Yuuta was obviously losing it to suggest such a thing. Hinata would prove he was a superior idol to Hiiro and prove to Yuuta that he hated the redhead’s guts. Yeah, that’s the plan. A completely rational plan with no faults whatsoever!

* * *

After a busy weekend of last-minute preparations for the year, school started on a chilly Monday morning. Yuuta insisted that they arrive to class early so they could catch up with the second-year members of Ra*bits, who they would be sharing class with. Hinata groaned when Yuuta shook him awake and made him get ready. He had no excitement about going to school for all the boring stuff like reading and homework, but it was true that they’d see their friends again.

1-A had been split up, with only Hinata, Tomoya, and Hajime remaining in the same class. Hinata would miss teaming up with Tetora to mess with Midori,, but he’d be certain to drop in during lunch breaks to see them again and ensue chaos. He already imagined scaring Midori and hearing his complaints while Tetora laughed and high fived Hinata. Yes, Hinata would be sure to stay close friends with them!

Hinata hummed as he and Yuuta walked through the front gates of Yumenosaki. Since Hinata decided to style his hair differently than his brother, they ditched the pink and blue headphones, hoping that they would be differentiable now. Hinata was nervous about the new style; having his hair in his face gave him a place to hide and now that it was pinned back completely on one side he didn’t have that hiding place anymore.

Last year Yuuta always complained about the hair pins, but his desire to be differentiated from Hinata was stronger than the daily nuisance of putting them in. Hinata loved hair accessories, so he told Yuuta to do whatever he wanted, and Hinata would continue to style his hair via the pins. The brothers had to move on from being the same.

It was a new year. New possibilities. New avenues to explore and time to develop into better people, and Hinata was going to make the best of it and nothing was going to stop him. 

The 2-B classroom wasn’t anything exciting, the room nearly identical to the first-year rooms, but entering it was like coming home. Hajime and Mitsuru conversed in one corner of the room, while Tomoya stood in the front holding a clipboard and scanning it over with a pencil.

Yuuta moved to join Hajime and Mitsuru, so Hinata gravitated towards Tomoya in the front of the room.

“Good morning, Tomo-kun!” Hinata greeted Tomoya, making him look up from the paper in his hands.

“Morning, Hinata. There’s going to be a new transfer student. Not a producer like Anzu-senpai was though, this is just another idol,” Tomoya said, tapping the attendance sheet in his hand. 

“A new idol is exciting though~!” Hinata clapped his hands together. “I wonder if he’s in a unit yet. Not that 2wink is accepting applications, but with our experience we could show him the ropes.”

“You say that like 2wink is the only successful unit, Hinata,” Tomoya sighed. He glanced over to Hajime and Mitsuru chatting with Yuuta. “We’ve been working hard too, so don’t get too full of yourself.”

This was far from the first time of teasing and bickering with Tomoya, yet the words irked Hinata. He was in no way full of himself; he could think of someone else who was truly full of himself, and Hinata was far better than that. Hinata had a right to be this confident- he worked hard all last year and fought to get where he is today- stupid Hiiro Amagi had no such reputation. 

It’d been days since their first meeting, and Hinata still thought about the less than five-minute occurrence. Sure, on the outside Hiiro looked fine, maybe a bit on the attractive side, but that didn’t matter since the words to come out of mouth were full of it. Someone with such a flashy look should have a good personality to match it, but Hiiro’s was a pile of garbage.

“Hey, Hinata? You’re making a pretty dark face. Was it something I said?” Tomoya’s question brought Hinata back to the present.

He unclenched his jaw and relaxed his eyebrows he hadn’t even realized he’d been tensing.

“All’s good, Tomo-kun~ Just the early mornings, you know?” Hinata grinned with practiced effort.

Tomoya still looked suspicious, so Hinata leaned over to ruffle his hair. “Hey, you know better than anyone that I’m just so grouchy in the morning.”

“Don’t mess up my hair! Ugh. Class is starting in a few so just sit down. I’m the student representative again, so _please_ try to be good this year.”

“No promises~” Hinata winked. He took the open desk next to Yuuta and emptied his backpack’s contents into it while Yuuta played a game on his phone that had his fingers viciously tapping the screen while he waited for class to start. Hinata buried his phone in a back pocket of his bag and he didn’t feel like digging around to get it out, so he opted to spin his pencil around his finger instead.

Everyone soon found a seat minutes before a teacher entered the room. Time seemed to freeze and Hinata missed the teacher’s name as she introduced herself though, since following in behind her was a certain hideous redhead boy.

Hinata’s mouth dropped open in shock and the only words he caught were “transfer student” and “new member of 2-B”, his pencil spinning out of his hand and flinging across the room. He stared at Hiiro who met Hinata’s eyes and smiled wide. The teacher was scolding Hinata, he knew from the tone of voice, but no words reached him.

She finished introducing Hiiro and waved a hand for him to take his seat, an empty spot in the front row. Which was a relief because if he sat behind Hinata, he’d have to constantly turn around to watch out for a knife in his back.

Even as time passed and the teacher began the lesson, Hinata still couldn't bring his focus back to school, his eyes drifting to the back of Hiiro’s head throughout the day. Thank God Yuuta was in the same class so he could bum notes off him; the most Hinata had written down was half a page and none of it was coherent.

A better use of his time would be to strategize the downfall of Hiiro Amagi. _Yes, that sounds much more productive,_ Hinata thought and flipped to a new page in his notebook to start brainstorming ideas.. He ignored Yuuta’s raised eyebrows at his lack of notetaking. He would explain later that he was doing important work for the sanctity of 2wink.

Being the best idols in the world was 2wink business. The first obstacle of their journey as second years was to eliminate Hiiro, of which Hinata was certain. And if Yuuta disagreed… Well, Hinata was the leader of 2wink, so he had executive privileges.

* * *

The next day after classes and unit practice, the twins were walking to the dining center for dinner. Hinata never knew that the promise of stable meals would be so comforting, but that was just another pro of living in the Cos _Pro_ dorms. Haha, he’d have to tell that one to Yuuta.

The older members of the agency weren’t around the dining center too often, or at least not at the times the twins visited. Beyond Hiyori, Hinata had only seen Mika and Shu around the building; he had yet to meet the other three members of Eden and he hadn’t seen any of the members of Crazy:B.

It made Hinata paranoid that maybe 2wink wasn’t working hard enough; if there was time to eat, then there was time to practice or market themselves. There was a feeling of guilt that came with having free time, and it hung heavy on him. Did the older idols think 2wink were weak? Did they believe that they would be unsuccessful? It had been a surprise when 2wink was assigned to CosPro, since it was made up of such elite units. Hinata talked big about 2wink, but in the face of a success like this his chest tightened with anxiety, like something bad was going to happen unless he worked harder.

Right now, it was dinner time though, so Hinata packaged those feelings up and set them in a corner of his mind he’d revisit while trying to fall asleep tonight.

The weather lately had been chilly and Yuuta picked up a small cold, so as a good older brother, Hinata offered to grab food for them both so Yuuta could go sit down. No coddling though, Yuuta wouldn’t allow it (even if he whined when Hinata wouldn't drape another blanket over him and tuck him in).

He ordered two sandwiches from the vendor, asking for extra peppers and a hearty serving of hot sauce on one. The worker squirted a small amount on, and Hinata motioned with his hands to add more until the sandwich was more hot sauce than anything else. Hinata thanked the employee, a grim expression passing on the poor girl’s face, and grabbed the tray.

The sound of laughter across the dining hall made Hinata freeze and tighten his grip on the tray. He only knew one person with such a bellowing laugh that demanded the entire room’s attention, and when Hinata turned and looked for Yuuta, he saw him sitting at a table by the window, but he wasn’t alone. An already too familiar mess of red hair sat across from him, his mouth hung open as laughter

“Hey, Yuuta-kun.” Hinata set the tray down and slid into the seat next to his brother. “Extra hot sauce- just how you like it.”

“Aoi, or I guess I should say Hinata. Hi!” Hiiro greeted him with a wide smile that made his eyes squint, making Hinata’s stomach turn.

“Oh~? I didn’t see you there, Hiiro-kun.” Hinata feigned surprise as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Maybe he was just hungry, and that’s why his stomach was being all weird.

Yuuta nudged him with his foot under the table, a warning to play nice. “I was just explaining to Hiiro-kun that we’re identical twins. He came in here and saw me and thought I was you.”

Hiiro chuckled, a smaller laugh than his outburst moments ago. “I got super confused. I mean it looked like Hinata, but something about it wasn’t _you_.”

“You should’ve seen both of us in class sitting next to each other though? How could you not realize it then?”

“Oh, well,” Hiiro grinned and rubbed his head. “I was really only focused on you, Hinata.” 

Hinata feigned a smile to hide the scowl that almost showed on his face. “Is that so? Even though Yuuta-kun and I sit next to each other, you didn’t see him?”

“Nope!”

This was getting to be a headache and Hinata took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Well, we’re 2wink- two in one. It’s only natural to confuse us.” 

“No, it was like,” Hiiro paused, scrunching his nose in thought. “I was wondering if you were having a bad day because it was like a completely different person.”

Yuuta hummed complacently, but Hinata took this as a challenge. There was no way someone he’d barely known was able to differentiate them. Not even their own father could tell them apart. 

“You can claim you can tell us apart, but you’ll have to prove it some other time, kay~?” Hinata resisted rolling his eyes. Obviously, Hiiro was lying, but Hinata didn’t feel like going through the shtick of switching around with Yuuta to try and test him during dinner.

“I will! Give me a surprise test anytime and I’ll be able to do it!” Hiiro held out his hand with his pinky out.

Hinata nearly scoffed.

Yuuta stomped on his foot.

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.” Hinata wrapped his pinky around Hiiro’s and shook it.

It was quick, barely 3 seconds, so why did the contact leave Hinata’s heart beating faster? Adrenaline maybe; a fight or flight reaction. Yeah, that made sense. Hinata did want to fight Hiiro, so the small touch was just his body getting ready to deck the other boy.

The only thing stopping Hinata was Yuuta sitting next to him, who would not only be upset that Hinata picked a fight but would also in turn kick Hinata’s ass for causing trouble.

Hiiro’s phone lit up with a notification on the table and Hinata waited for him to pick it up and excuse himself, but his eyes were instead focused on Hinata’s hands.

“You have really nice nails, Hinata. Like super neat. I wish mine were like that,” he said with wonder. 

Hinata’s heartbeat rang in his ears and he clenched his hands into fists to hide his nails. He looked off to the side, unable to stand the sight of Hiiro anymore. 

“Oooh~ Aniki will do your nails anytime. He _loves_ doing other people’s nails,” Yuuta spoke up next to him and Hinata snapped his head back around.

“Huh?! Wait, no, I don’t-“ His stuttered protest died on his lips when Hiiro checked his phone and stood up from the table with a jump.

“Well, that’s Nii-san. I gotta go meet with him. I’ll be taking you up on that offer for nails, Hinata! Bye Aoi’s!” Hiiro waved and as soon as he was out of the room, Hinata crossed his arms and leveled the nastiest glare he could manage at his brother.

Yuuta continued eating his sandwich, even having the nerve to offer Hinata a bite, “since you’re staring so much”. 

“You’re the worst. I do so much for you, and you repay me like this? Why would you think I want to ever interact with _him_ more than I have to!” 

“Because I’m your twin and I know you have a crush on him, but you won’t admit it. You’ll thank me later.” Yuuta finished his sandwich with a satisfied smile.

Hinata would do no such thanking. In fact, Yuuta would be the sole recipient of the silent treatment tonight.

It didn’t mean anything that when they got back to their room that Hinata decided to organize his nail polish. It was because they were disorganized, and he’s been meaning to clean it up for a while.

Hinata certainly did not think about colors that would accent Hiiro the best and set those aside. That would be weird. He didn’t mentally compare red colors versus blue ones to decide whether it’d be best to highlight his eyes or his hair. Or think about holding Hiiro’s hands as he delicately applied polish onto the nails, having to ask him to sit still repeatedly.

Thoughts like those were lame and stupid, so Hinata’s big brain didn’t think them at all.

* * *

The next few days of school were rough. Hinata couldn’t focus whatsoever. Each time Hiiro so much as shifted in his seat or breathed too deeply, Hinata’s eyes fell on him like a predator watching his prey, waiting for a sign of weakness

Yuuta called it a “lame way of dealing with a crush”, which of course Hinata denie; he had to keep a close eye on him because Hiiro was a schemer. Each day at lunch break he would approach Hinata like they were friends or something and ask him about his day, but Hinata was smart and knew the way of emotional warfare. He smiled and laughed, keeping an air of nonchalance as he expressed that his day was going just grand.

Hinata learned quickly that Hiiro was more touchy-feely than most people, even Hinata himself. His hands often gravitated to patting Hinata’s shoulder or his arm and Hinata let him keep his hand unbroken if only because simple interactions like these were “friendly” and he had to keep appearances around the enemy. 

Like the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Then the next week rolled around, and Hiiro started talking to Hinata outside of lunch break: a greeting in the morning, glances back during class with small waves, and as soon as class was over, Hiiro would trot over to Hinata’s desk and start talking straight away.

“Today’s lesson was so boring, was it like this last year too?”

“Tomorrow’s lunch menu looks really good, let’s go together.”

“I heard the funniest joke! Okay, knock knock.”

“Hey, there’s a piece of hair falling in your face.”

He said that last one while leaning forward, brushing a stray strand of hair behind Hinata’s hair.

“What are you doing? Don’t just touch my hair.” Hinata tried to force an edge of venom into his voice as he slapped Hiiro’s hand away for the unwarranted touch.

“Ah, but your hair is so nice? I’ll go for any excuse to touch it.” Hiiro once again raised a hand to run through Hinata’s hair. “It’s so cute pinned back like this, Hinata.”

The compliment froze Hinata in place and left him defenseless as Hiiro’s hand ran through his hair again. Hiiro’s hand was warm, he knew this from the countless times he would invade Hinata’s personal space, but this touch burned him and Hinata wanted to jump away from this uncomfortable heat, yet he stayed in place, the burn on his skin soothed by glittering blue eyes.

Finally, when reality did hit him, Hinata pushed the other boy away from him. Hinata’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out what to say. The flush on his cheeks was from rage, nothing else. He couldn’t find his words because he was so mad that he couldn’t think. Hinata wasn’t flustered; he was angry. 

Hinata forced his face to scrunch up in a glare and he stormed out of the classroom, ignoring the call of his name. He started running once he was out of the room, not caring where he ended up. He understood how Mitsuru felt- this urge to run and run to get all the energy out, until exhaustion swept over him and he couldn’t move anymore.

Maybe that’s why Hinata ended up outside at the track.

With about a half an hour left of lunch break, Hinata ditched his blazer and started running around the track. His feet pounded into the concrete, each step taking his mind away from his troubling situation. For years now, Hinata has found solace from bothersome thoughts by pushing his body. Unlike Mitsuru, who had joined Hinata on the track with an excited hop in his step, Hinata didn’t normally opt for running as his outlet.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and if it were anyone else Hinata would try and get them to play hooky with him, but he knew Mitsuru struggled in class and it would do no good to skip. Hinata grabbed his blazer from the side of the track and grabbed Mitsuru’s arm the next time he came around, dragging him back to class.

The rest of the day Hinata avoided the worried eyes of Hiiro and the inquisitive ones of Yuuta. He didn’t need to explain himself. All he needed was to get through class and go to unit practice where he would work so hard that Yuuta would have to lug him back to CosPro. It was time to focus up and prepare for the daily grind of making 2wink the best unit possible.

That was the plan. Prove that 2wink was a reputable idol unit and shove Hiiro’s- Alkaloid’s face into the dirt. 

But a little voice kept whispering in the back of Hinata’s mind, asking questions he didn’t know the answer to.

_Why do I care so much about impressing him?_

_Why can’t I stop thinking about him?_

_Why did I feel such a rush when he touched me?_

Hinata fought back a sigh. All these _feelings_ … They were such a pain. Ever since the incident during the Setsubun Festival, Hinata promised Yuuta he would be honest and stop lying. But being open with all these emotions was exhausting. It was like a dam broke and flooded the land, making Hinata drown under the weight of it all.

He was confused too. Bad enough was feeling things and acknowledging that he was in fact not numb anymore, but worse was that he’d been disconnected so long that he wasn’t even sure what his heart was trying to say, like it was speaking a different language.

Classmates opened their books around him and Hinata mindlessly followed the action, flipping to a random page in a textbook he hoped was the right one for the class. Quiet reading time, but Hinata would do no reading. He listened to the _tik tok_ of the clock on the wall, and wondered if he should rebuild the walls he set around himself before.

These thoughts occupied himself until the final class of the day, by then becoming nothing more than a nagging that returned to the back of his mind.

For some reason, it was deemed necessary that idols would have to complete at least one lab course during their time in high school. The teacher explained that first years didn’t have the maturity to work in a lab and that third year would get too busy with idol-work, so the mandatory lab course happened during the second year of high school.

Science wasn’t Hinata’s favorite subject, but the appeal of blowing things up in a lab was overwhelming. Maybe just this once Hinata would believe science was a great and amazing thing.

“So, we will begin work in the lab tomorrow. Work will be done in partnerships,” the teacher explained. Hinata stood up straighter in his seat and immediately looked over at Yuuta shooting finger guns, to be met with a smile and a thumbs up.

“Of course, your partners have been assigned by me.”

Hinata’s hands dropped to his lap and he groaned, smacking his head onto his desk. _Assigned_ partners? What an awful idea. What if he got stuck with some snob who wouldn’t let him blow things up? Or at the very least let him play with the matches?

“Hinata, since you look so fond of the idea, we’ll start with your partner. You will be paired with Amagi Hiiro.”

Hinata’s head shot up off his desk, a protest already forming on his tongue. The teacher must’ve seen the look on his face and quickly moved on to reading the other pairs, ignoring Hinata’s pained expression.

His new lab partner had turned around to look at Hinata, and Hinata half-heartedly returned the redhead’s excited wave. Hiiro looked to be trying to mouth some words to Hinata, but Hinata could only ever read lips when it was Yuuta. Hinata shrugged in response to Hiiro and turned his head away so he wouldn’t have to look at his face anymore.

There was a part of his mind that wanted to glance back and try to figure out what Hiiro was trying to communicate. His traitor brain was intrigued by what Hiiro wished to say so bad it couldn’t wait until the end of class, but Hinata wouldn’t turn back around. That’d be falling right into the enemy’s trap, right?

Looking at Hiiro made his chest squeeze tight, constricting Hinata and taking his breath away, and he just wanted Hiiro and his stupid endearing personality and stupid handsome face to go away.

This was the first week of school and Hinata already felt so emotionally drained as if he’d just experienced the entirety of last year again. But he would keep pushing through it. He made a promise to himself and to Yuuta that this would be their best year yet.

There wasn’t any other option but that.

* * *

According to an email from Ibara, there would be a Cosmic Productions Debut Live happening in a few days. Each unit was promised equal stage time and units would be performing individually one at a time, so as to have the stage all to themselves. The email said that it was a live show purely to show off Cosmic Productions and that it was not a competition.

Yeah, right. As if it wouldn’t turn into one.

Hinata knew his line of thought would be the same as the other unit leaders. It wasn’t a formal competition, but it would be a matter of pride to “win” this live. The other CosPro units were some of the best around, and Hinata needed to prove that 2wink had every right to perform on the same stage as them. They were underdogs for sure.

Even though the CosPro building had practice rooms, Hinata preferred the ones at Yumenosaki. If anyone asked, it was because they were familiar and Hinata felt like he did his best work in them. The truth was that if he used the rooms at the agency, then there was a bigger chance of one of his seniors or Yuuta dragging Hinata out of it when he stayed too long.

After school ended, Hinata made up a lie about picking up a shift at a part-time job he had last year and told Yuuta to go home without him.

Hinata connected his phone to a speaker and selected his go-to workout playlist- an upbeat pop mix that included a fair share of American electro-pop. He would usually queue up songs that he liked, but right now he only cared about working as hard as he could and testing his physical limits. He needed to improve and get better, or else 2wink would fall behind.

He did stretches first. He longed to move onto stunts as soon as possible, but he knew without stretching he would get hurt and it’d be difficult to explain to Yuuta without telling the truth. Every doubt and worry about not working hard enough drowned out the guilt he felt for lying to Yuuta, and he ignored the ache in his chest over breaking that promise they made weeks ago on a lonely rooftop.

_“I don’t want you to go.”_

_"I don’t want you to keep closing yourself off.”_

_"Please… Stop shutting me out.”_

_“Hinata-kun.”_

_"Promise you’ll be honest with me from now on.”_

_“No, say it. Say that you promise.”_

_“You can’t ever break this promise, okay?”_

…

_Sorry, Yuuta-kun. It’s just this once- I hope you can understand._

Once he was stretched out, he stood in the middle of the room, ready to begin his routine.

First, he dropped his arms to the floor and kicked his legs up into a handstand. He held it for a minute then rolled his legs behind his arms to move into a bridge position, alternating between the positions until his arms burned and shook on the last handstand, making Hinata stand up straight.

He thought about all the different skills he had; the wide arsenal under his belt. He’s been learning acrobatics for years, perfecting moves after hours of dedicated practice. He knew a variety of flips and twirls, balancing on a ball with his feet or his hands, walking on tightropes. His classmates talked about how impressive his physical abilities were, complimenting flexibility and his sense of balance.

Hinata wasn’t sure it was enough.

Sure, the moves were cool, but it wasn’t _enough_. Everything Hinata knew were cantrips for street performances. The flashier a performance, the more money he and Yuuta would get. If 2wink wanted to be regarded as an esteemed unit though, they’d need to refine these skills, or else they would look like a pair of dumb kids jumping all over the place.

When he was a first year, he could pass off any mistakes on his lack of experience, but he didn’t have that luxury now. This was 2wink’s brand- these flashy moves and acts of grand acrobatics. Any mess-up now would be attributed to a lack of _skill_ rather than experience.

There was no option but to work hard every day until his body ached and begged for a rest. He would push himself until he couldn’t walk, and even then, he would use his hands instead. He’d go further and further and-

Hinata fell out of a handspring and hit the floor, a loud thud resounding throughout the empty room. His back hurt, but it was the burn in his elbow that made him hiss in pain, feeling tears prick the back of his eyes. With a shaky breath, he lifted his afflicted arm off the floor and managed to bend and extend it through the waves of pain. Considering he could move it, Hinata was sure he just hit his funny bone real hard, something he’s done before countless times but didn’t make it throb any less.

The window to the practice room had only the barest sliver of light peeking through it, and Hinata recalled his agreement to meet Yuuta for dinner “after work”. He forced himself to stand up, ignoring aches across his body from hitting the ground so hard. He’s been through worse, so he can get through this funny-bone business.

If Yuuta thought Hinata was acting off, he didn’t mention it. He showed Hinata some beats and melodies he thought up for new songs, eyes shining with excitement. Hinata smiled without even thinking about it and listened to his brother hum the tunes, joining in when he understood the basic beat.

Hinata couldn’t bear to let himself fall behind and drag Yuuta down with him, not when he had so much passion. There was no other option than for Hinata to keep pushing himself.

He wouldn’t forsake his promise though, he’d just blur the lines a little bit. When they made that oath, Yuuta had begged Hinata to stop sacrificing his inner self. Which meant that so long as Hinata’s inside stayed intact, it shouldn’t matter what became of the outside- his physical body.

Right, so it was okay to continue this personal training.

These kinds of thoughts were a part of Hinata’s essence, so he was still being himself on the inside. Everything was okay. 2wink would be the best unit ever, Yuuta would be happy, and Hinata would make sure everything went perfectly for that to happen.

* * *

Holding true to what their teacher said, the next day the class was moved into the lab. Hinata and Hiiro were assigned a table in the back corner, and it would have been exciting to be hidden from view and easier to goof off, but he was stuck there with Hiiro.

Hinata picked at his nails as the teacher explained what they were supposed to be doing today. He could try to pay attention, sure, but if he showed too much motivation then Hiiro may get the wrong idea and think it’s because Hinata was eager to work with him. 

His eyes wandered over to where Yuuta was sitting with Hajime. Of course, Yuuta got paired with someone he liked, a good friend of his. While Hinata was stuck with the enemy. Life was simply unfair.

“Hey, Hinata.”

Hinata inhaled deeply and returned his focus to the task at hand. “What is it?”

“Were you listening? We gotta choose a project to do.” Hiiro opened his spiral up to a blank page and wrote ‘Ideas!’ at the top of it and Hinata hit the part of his brain that thought it was cute.

“Wasn’t one just assigned? Shouldn’t there be directions or something?” 

Hiiro laughed, a quieter one than usual but nonetheless had Hinata leaning back. “Nope! We gotta make our own project. I have a few ideas, but I-”

“If you have ideas, can’t you just pick one?” Hinata knew he was being harsh. He felt bad as soon as the words left his mouth, guilt burning in his chest. He disliked schoolwork and all, but he’s never so carelessly thrown the work onto someone else.

Hiiro frowned.

Hinata bit his lip. 

His mouth was moving before his mind could form words these days. Hinata used to be controlling of all his words and actions, everything chosen meticulously, but now each time he opened his mouth lately, he felt like a child sputtering and learning to interact with others for the first time.

Why was it also around Hiiro that Hinata fumbled even more uselessly over his words?

“Sorry, I was just joking~ I’d love to hear your ideas first though, since I’m not so good at science stuff.” Hinata’s lips curved into a smile and without thinking, his hand moved to rest on Hiiro’s arm.

Wait, that’s too much. Why did he do that? Well, he already did it, it’d be weird to move so soon right? Hiiro casually touched him all the time, so why did Hinata feel hot suddenly?

“Ah? You seem so cool, I thought you would be good at science.” Hiiro snickered. “Oh well! That doesn’t matter. You wanna hear my amazing ideas, right?”

Hinata’s smile remained even as his eyes rolled. “Duh. I just said so, didn’t I? Go on and woo me, Hiiro-kun.”

A strange blankness passed over Hiiro’s face for a moment until it was replaced by a smile ear to ear that invaded Hinata’s personal space.

“Oh! I’ll woo you for sure, Hinata! You’ll be so amazed by my skills you’ll beg to have me as your partner forever!”

Hinata’s eyes widened and he took a step back. His heart hammered in his chest and now he regretted lifting Hiiro’s spirits. He was talking about _lab_ partners, right? There was no way he could mean anything other than that. He was totally just making a joke! Hiiro was airheaded like that and didn’t understand the words coming out of his mouth.

“Riiighttt. Why don’t you just spill them already?” Hinata’s voice was higher, he realized with a flush. He hoped Hiiro didn’t notice. That would be so embarrassing.

Hiiro turned back to his spiral, twirling his pencil around his fingers. “Well, back home there wasn’t much to do but my brother gave me this book full of kiddie science projects and from what I remember there were classic ones like,” he began writing as he spoke, “a potato battery, a DIY lava lamp, making your own ice cream. Uhh… Oh! Making a paper clip float.”

“Wait.” Hinata had started laughing as soon as Hiiro said ‘potato battery’, but now he was interested. “Ice cream?”

“Yes! So, you get some ice and milk, and some other stuff.” Hiiro waved his arms around. “You get all these different bags and start squishing everything together. It’s fun and tastes super good!”

Ice cream. Hinata could get behind that.

“Alright, so let’s do that one. I’ve never done any sort of science project before, so you’re going to have to take the lead, ‘kay, Hiiro-kun?” 

Hiiro’s mouth dropped open in a gasp. “Hinata!? Oh, you’re joking right? It was my favorite thing to do as a kid, all these fun little experiments. And you never took part in that. That makes me so sad…”

Hinata didn’t feel like delving into his personal history and lack of typical childhood memories, so he sucked it up and forced a tight smile onto his face.

“Huh~? It’s fine though. I’m sure I’m not the only one, though?”

Hiiro’s eyebrows furrowed into a straight line and his sharp eyes focused on Hinata.

“I have no choice but to make this the best science project ever! It won’t even matter that you didn’t get to do one as a kid, because you’ll get to do it now. With me as your partner, no less. Fuahaha!”

The forced smile fell off Hinata’s face and shock flooded him. The earnest look in Hiiro’s eyes, his determined tone. Hinata hadn’t made any sort of mention of his past, yet Hinata felt like Hiiro was speaking as if he knew Hinata forever. 

Conflicting emotions stormed inside Hinata. One was frustration at being unable to keep a lid on his emotions and being turned into such an unrestrained version of himself than normal. The other one danced and spun around inside, longing to understand the beat of Hiiro’s heart and what made his soar like Hinata’s was right now. Like, how easily he could name off science experiments- did he like science? Did he like sweets like Hinata did?

If Hinata didn’t know any better, he’d say this floating feeling was what a crush felt like.

Oh.

Oh no.

* * *

Hinata had never had a crush before. He’d never felt the rush of emotions that came by standing too close to someone or staring out the window fantasizing about holding hands. He could chalk it up to the isolation he’s felt since childhood and being forced into a role of independence early in life, but understanding why it never happened before didn’t make accepting these new feelings any easier.

Everything was so confusing. When Hinata had first met Hiiro, he was angered by his ignorant words about idols, yet in that irritation Hinata still thought about how handsome Hiiro was. Hinata knew when people were “attractive”; Yumenosaki was a school of idols, so Hinata had met plenty of attractive people, but Hiiro was the first one that occupied his mind longer than could be considered normal.

Because of this reluctant realization that Hinata had a crush on Hiiro, talking to the boy only got harder. Hinata’s plan was to avoid him, but he had to admit to himself that that was another lousy attempt at denying his feelings, considering Hinata started adjusting his routine at school to run into Hiiro more often.

He found out that although Hiiro rolled into class a minute before the bell rang in the morning, always earning a hard glare from the teacher, that the boy was in fact on campus, just in the garden area. So, Hinata started visiting the garden before class as well, even if he didn’t see the appeal in fooling around with the plants so early in the morning. 

Lame as it was, Hinata couldn’t bring himself to approach Hiiro. He opted to hide around trees and watch the redhead as he walked around the garden and examined all the plants. Hinata had no idea what Hiiro was trying to do by checking under the shrubs, but he was usually distracted enough to not catch sight of Hinata and his useless pining self.

Then one day Hinata peeked out from behind his hiding place for a second too long, and Hiiro ran up to Hinata.

“Good morning, Hinata! C’mere I gotta show you something!” Hiiro grabbed his hand and dragged him across the garden.

Hinata couldn’t form a response as he felt Hiiro’s hand around his own. They weren’t soft or manicured like Hinata kept his own, and Hinata could feel the faintest of calluses on his fingers. Rugged, but not rough. _Charming_.

Hiiro crouched to the ground and tugged Hinata down with him. He brushed aside a branch on a leafy shrub with his other hand and pointed to a beetle on the ground.

“Look at this guy! It’s not summer yet, so I was surprised to find this fella, but he looks like he’s doing good for himself.” Hiiro talked about the beetle like he was introducing him as an old friend. Hinata found his words incredibly endearing and he couldn’t fight off the soft smile that came on his face.

“Is this why you come to the garden so much? To look for bugs?” 

Hiiro’s eyebrows raised and he tilted his head. “Haa? How’d you know I come to the garden? I never see you around here.”

Nervous laughter spilled from Hinata’s lips as he tried to think up some sort of reason that he would know this. Jeez, he really needs to think before he speaks, but being around Hiiro made his mind blank and common sense disappear.

“Oh hahaha. Uh, you know. You’ve, um.” Hinata swallowed. “You’ve mentioned it before? During lab.”

“Have I?” Hiiro leaned closer to Hinata with a questioning look.

“Yeah! Just yesterday you said, ‘I always walk in the garden before school,’ and I asked why and then you said ‘come tomorrow and I’ll show you,’ so that’s why I’m here today!” Hinata lied, hoping the confidence in his voice would fool Hiiro. “Why else would I be in the garden so early?”

Hiiro stared at Hinata for a moment longer and then, “Ohhh. I don’t remember it exactly, but that sounds like it probably happened?”

“Mhm~ So, have you always liked beetles?” Hinata needed to change the topic quickly before Hiiro could think any more about it. That was a close one. The last thing he needed was Hiiro thinking that Hinata had been watching him from afar; he’d probably think Hinata was a big weirdo.

“Yeah! I grew up catching them back home,” Hiiro explained, looking back at the beetle on the ground. 

“Ah, right. You’ve mentioned before you aren’t from the city.” Hinata let his eyes fall to their hands, Hiiro’s still loosely holding his. “Do you miss it? It probably hasn’t been easy adjusting to things here.”

Hiiro sighed, and it brought Hinata’s eyes up to see a sort of passing sadness on his face. “I don’t think I miss it, but that scares me. Cause, I should be homesick right? This is my first time away from home, and all I can think about is how free I feel.”

Hinata’s heart stuttered in his chest as he hesitantly intertwined his fingers through Hiiro’s, relieved when Hiiro let it happen and even lightly squeezed Hinata’s hand.

“Y’know, home doesn’t have to be where you grew up. My home is in the people around me.”

“I don’t understand…” Hiiro’s voice was small, a stark difference from the usual loud confidence he projected.

Hinata found his own voice grew soft as well, “growing up, Yuuta-kun and I only had each other to rely on. It may sound sad, but it was our truth. It didn’t matter where we were, because so long as we were together, we were at home.

“And now, in Yumenosaki, I’ve made friends that I feel at home with too. My classmates, my senpais. I’ve found a place to belong, and it’s with the people, not the place.”

Hiiro continued staring at the ground, a frown on his face and brows furrowed, but his hand held tightly onto Hinata’s. Usually, Hinata hates talking about his past, feeling pathetic and embarrassed when he reveals his past misfortunes, but the need to soothe Hiiro’s doubts and worries overrode Hinata’s own insecurities. 

The school bell chimed, the first warning that class would start in five minutes. It brought Hiiro’s focus back to reality and he turned to look at Hinata, the smallest smile gracing his lips.

“Thank you, Hinata.”

Hinata stood and pulled Hiiro up with him. “Don’t worry about it, Hiiro-kun. We’re friends. This is what friends do.”

Their hands dropped from each other as they walked to their classroom, and Hinata kept himself from reaching out to hold it again, forcing himself to be content with the occasional brush of their fingers against each other while they walked.

Hiiro hummed a joyful tune unfamiliar to Hinata, and he internally sighed in relief that Hiiro’s mood was bright again. He appreciated Hiiro letting him see a different side of him, but Hinata would’ve been sad for the rest of the day if the redhead’s upbeat attitude hadn’t returned to him.

When they got to the door for 2-B, Hiiro paused and turned to Hinata.

“Hey, Hinata?” Hiiro’s eyes looked off to the side and a tint of red dusted his cheeks, freezing Hinata in place and making his heart beat faster.

“Y-yeah?”

His eyes flickered up for a moment to Hinata’s and he spoke quietly, “Do you think I could find a home in you?”

Hinata wanted to run away, the question triggering every part of his fight-or-flight response. His heart was beating fast, his palms were clammy, and even the back of his neck felt sweaty. But he forced himself to stand his ground, and with a deep breath he replied,

“I think that can happen, Hiiro-kun.”

Hiiro’s smile stretched up to his eyes and a giggle tore itself through his throat that sent another wave of nerves through Hinata from the delightful sound. He practically skipped into the classroom and Hinata took a moment to catch his breath, following him at a more relaxed pace.

As soon as he entered, he felt Yuuta’s questioning eyes on him, which Hinata ignored, walking to his seat and pulling out his notebook. He avoided Yuuta’s gaze for the entirety of the morning, knowing what kinds of questions he wanted to ask, but not quite sure how if he had the answers to them.

He absorbed no information from the teacher’s lectures and decided instead to doodle in the margins of his notebook. Hinata hadn’t caught beetles growing up, so he wasn’t exactly sure what they looked like, but he enjoyed the cartoonish bugs he was putting on the paper instead of notes. Maybe if he had enough courage, he would show Hiiro and ask for advice.

That was a bit much, wasn’t it?

Hinata’s been through many things in his life, and he considered himself an experienced individual when it came to life-skills and street-smarts, but this was uncharted territory.

Matters of the heart- a high school crush.

But if Hinata learned anything from when he was captain for a day during the Boarding Live, it was that you had to confront unexplored waters with confidence, or else the tides would pull you under in an instant.

* * *

Question after question filled Hinata. His fingers had just started typing into the google search bar “what does a crush feel like” when he decided that may just be a bit too pathetic. Admitting to Yuuta that he was having romantic thoughts about Hiiro was going to be a pain, but he was the only one Hinata trusted to hear him out.

When the lunch bell rang, he managed to dash out of the room before Yuuta could have a chance to corner him. He needed more time to gather his thoughts and figure out the best way to approach the topic with his brother. Hinata was definitely overthinking everything, but then again, he felt like he had just been thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim.

_I think I have a crush on Hiiro-kun._

Oh, that was too forward. Maybe he could bait Yuuta into talking about it?

_Yuuta-kun, have you got your eyes on anyone?_

Hmm. Yuuta would probably smack his arm and say to stop being a nosy brother.

_So, if Hiiro-kun were to put his lips on mine I don’t think I would entirely mind, and actually I may like it a lot if he did that._

God, this was difficult.

Even harder than running away from Yuuta was hiding from Hiiro. Hinata itched to go eat lunch with him and listen to him talk about stupid beetles from the countryside, but after their conversation that morning he needed a breather, or else he really might’ve had a heart attack if Hiiro so much as looked at him.

So, he hid in the light music club room during lunch. Ever since Rei graduated, the room became unoccupied during the day since no club members needed a place to sleep. Mao had joined this year, but being the student council president kept him from attending most of the meetings. Hinata didn't mind that though, because it just meant that with his power and authority, Mao could slip more funding towards the light music club.

Sure, Mao outright refused to do such a thing when Hinata brought it up, but Hinata gave him a wink and “Oh! Right, right. You’re _totally_ not going to do that. Haha, I got you Isara-senpai. Wink~”. Messing around with his seniors was too much fun to resist, especially when it had Koga barking at Hinata to shut his trap and threaten him with suspension.

The light music club was his family. Even with Rei no longer at Yumenosaki, he still received poorly typed texts wishing Hinata well. The days before graduation, Rei had pulled Hinata aside and what he thought was going to be a short conversation, just to say goodbye, turned into over an hour of talking. Rei didn’t stop referring to Hinata as his child, but the way he talked to Hinata then, he treated Hinata like an equal. 

Hinata sat alone in the light music room for a whole five minutes when the door opened with a slam. He expected Yuuta to walk in and interrogate Hinata about what happened in the morning, but it was Koga who marched in.

He didn’t seem to realize Hinata was sitting on the ground against the wall until he took a few more steps inside and froze when his eyes fell on Hinata.

“Hi, Oogami-senpai.” 

Koga glanced around the room and narrowed his eyes on Hinata. “Where’s your brother? Are the two of ya fightin’?”

Hinata shook his head. “Nope~ Yuuta-kun and I are A-okay! I just wanted to visit the club room.”

“Durin’ lunch? Shouldn’t ya be eatin’? Didn’t even bring any food with ya,” Koga grumbled. “Were ya plannin’ on eating the guitars?”

Hinata blinked. He had been in such a rush to leave his classroom that he forgot to grab his lunch. He didn’t feel hungry though, his mind was far too occupied with confusing thoughts.

Koga grabbed his guitar out of the closet and walked to where Hinata sat and held his hand out. “C’mon then. If you’re here, then we gotta practice some.”

Hinata grabbed his hand and pulled himself off the ground. “I don’t wanna play guitar though. Can’t I do keyboard?”

“I don’t care! And who said I would let ya touch my precious baby anyways? Just go grab whatever.” Koga gave him a shove towards the closet. Hinata held back a snort at Koga’s brashness and grabbed the keyboard off the top shelf. 

Koga pulled out a chair for himself and Hinata in the center of the room and he had begun tuning his guitar. Hinata held the keyboard under his arm and climbed onto the chair so that he was sitting on top of the back of the chair with his legs on the seat. 

“Really?”

Hinata set the keyboard on his lap and turned it on. “This is comfy, Oogami-senpai.”

Koga snorted. “It really doesn’t look like that at all.”

“Well, I gotta practice my balance anyways, so it all works out!” Hinata played a mindless melody while he waited for Koga to finish tuning up.

When Koga started to play a more complex series of chords, Hinata figured he was done tuning. He paused in his playing and waited for Koga to take the lead on the beat but found that Koga stopped playing as well. Hinata tilted his head in confusion.

“Oogami-senpai? Hello~? Waiting on you here.”

“I’m being nice and lettin’ ya take the lead on this one. So, don’t muck it up, ‘kay?”

Hinata grinned. “Well, I hope you can keep up.”

He cracked his knuckles and rested his fingers on the keyboard. He tapped a few keys experimentally before starting a tune of light notes at a mild pace. Koga jumped in after a few seconds of listening to the basic tune, and the sound instantly elevated to the next level, partly because two instruments were better than one, but also because Koga was _good_.

As much fun as it was last year to tease Koga, Hinata was constantly reminded that Koga’s passion and hard work were some of the best things about him. When Hinata learned that Koga hadn’t been playing guitar for that long, he was shocked. Koga had such great comfort with the instrument and a natural talent for playing it that he possessed the air of someone with years of experience.

While Hinata’s fingers continued to dance across the keyboard, picking up the pace, his mind wandered. He thought about his words earlier that morning; about home. The light music club was a home. Rei and Koga had taken the twins under their wing and helped them in their first year. Hinata didn’t know where he would be without either of them. 

He thought about his classmates in 1-A. He grew up without letting anyone get close to him, eventually pushing his own brother away, so he didn’t expect to care so much for his classmates. Even if for most of the year he had something of a mask on, presenting himself as some cheerful boy who’s biggest worry was if his favorite game was working at the arcade or if his new cake recipe would work and wouldn’t be too dry or soft, he still sincerely cared about each and every one of them. He vowed to prove that sincerity to them this year.

Then Hinata thought of Yuuta, his brother often on Hinata’s mind. From 2wink management to Hinata’s own struggles, Yuuta forced Hinata to open up and let him in. At first, it was difficult not to fall back into old habits of bottling everything up and putting up a facade. Hinata felt guilty that he caused Yuuta so much pain that he figured it’d be better that he would just have to do a better job of hiding everything so Yuuta wouldn’t be sad again.

Day after day, Yuuta would make Hinata sit down and talk to him. It was… hard. Two different logics were working inside Hinata. One that said, “to keep Yuuta happy, I need to be happy” and another that “Yuuta will be happy if I’m honest.”

At some point, Yuuta picked up on Hinata’s regression, so he started talking about how he felt instead, hoping that it could bait Hinata into opening up. It was during those conversations, that Hinata learned a lot about his brother. He learned that Yuuta had actually enjoyed the math classes during first year. That he found a way to win one of the games in the arcade that had given them grief since childhood. Yuuta opened up about all the things he longed to talk to Hinata about during first year, all those thoughts he kept to himself during first year in hope’s that Hinata would pry into his life and talk to him again.

Hinata didn’t realize that Yuuta had started to keep himself secretive in hopes that Hinata would get curious and talk to him. He didn’t know that Yuuta so desperately missed talking to his brother. It made guilt burn inside him like a hot knife twisting in his gut. _He_ caused pain to his brother. _He_ made his brother sad. _He_ became the bad guy.

“Oi, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata’s hands stumbled on the keys and he looked up at Koga.

“You’re crying.”

Sure enough, Hinata blinked and he felt the wetness fall from his eyes and run down his cheeks. He rubbed his face with his sleeve and sniffed.

“Ah... I didn’t realize. Sorry, did I mess up the song?”

Koga squinted at Hinata. “Ha? Why’re ya worryin’ about that? Jeez. Do ya need a tissue or somethin’?”

“No, I’m fine.” Hinata’s voice was quiet. He really didn’t know why he started crying; he didn’t feel particularly sad at the moment.

“Well. Class is gonna start again soon. I’m club president, so I’m gonna let ya stay here durin’ class if ya want. Just don’t tell Mao.”

Hinata felt fine. There was no reason for him to miss class, but Koga’s words were like a blanket tucking him into this fate. So, Hinata nodded in affirmation. He watched Koga put the guitar away and dodged his eyes when he turned back around. Hinata started playing a few sparse notes on the keyboard but paused when Koga cleared his throat.

“Y’know, music, it’s real good for your heart. Playing and lettin’ all those feelings out. Your tune today is a bit sad.” Koga scratched the back of his head and stared at the floor. “If ya need someone, I’m here for ya, kid. Even just to jam again.”

Hinata felt a heavy teardrop roll down his cheek but smiled regardless. “I’ll be fine, but thank you, Oogami-senpai.”

Koga pursed his lips and nodded. He waved goodbye and left the room, closing the door with more gentleness than he opened it with earlier. Hinata exhaled a deep breath of air, letting his fingers mindlessly tap on the keyboard, no care for the sounds he was producing.

Hinata wouldn’t make it a habit to skip class, and he’d apologize to Yuuta later and beg for his notes, but just this once Hinata would indulge in this catharsis.

* * *

The Cosmic Production Debut Live Show went off without a hitch. There were no issues with production or any backstage drama between the units. It was all smooth sailing, the most put-together show Hinata had taken part in.

2wink’s performance was great. Despite the limited prep time for the event, he and Yuuta managed to pull off some of the new tricks they’ve practiced without any mess ups. Their singing always needed some work, but tonight it was respectable. They were in sync and even though they had begun developing personal strengths, 2wink would always be two-in-one.

When their performance was done and they went backstage, Yuuta giggled and danced around, punching the air and making _whoosh_ sounds, running on excited energy leftover from the live. 

Hinata wanted to match his brother’s excitement. He wanted to jump around laughing and feel such an adrenaline rush that he’d be drunk on life for the next few hours. He would love to join in the celebration Yuuta was putting on.

But honestly, Hinata just felt sick.

He knew that 2wink’s performance was good. He understood that everything had gone perfectly and there were no mistakes. It was one of their best performances yet. 

So, why did Hinata feel such displeasure settle in his stomach? Why was it that he felt so dissatisfied with their- no, _his_ performance? Yuuta had done perfectly. This unease- it must be because Hinata was the one lacking. 

Hinata was surrounded by amazing idols and units. Seniors who knew what they were doing and had so much expertise that it put Hinata’s flimsy work to shame. Hinata had once been so confident in his abilities, but now he was drowning in this talent, and he didn’t have a single moment to catch his breath. That rush of anxiety he felt the days earlier, to do the independent practice, it was back now and crushing him.

Yuuta turned around to face Hinata and the smile on his face wavered. “Are you okay? You look-”

“I feel great! That was such an amazing show, Yuuta-kun.” Hinata forced a smile through the nausea he felt and put his hands on Yuuta’s shoulders. He forced him to turn back around and guided him forward. “Come on now~! Let’s get into more comfortable clothes so we can go party with the others.”

Yuuta resisted being pushed forward, leaning back against Hinata’s pushing.. “Hey! Stop pushing.” He turned his head around in an attempt to find Hinata’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“You’re such a worrier, you’re going to get gray hair if you keep it up.” Hinata ruffled Yuuta’s hair, slapped away with a whine.

“Don’t mess up my hair. And I’m serious, Aniki. You have to tell me if something’s wrong. You _promised_.”

The smile he stretched on was going to give Hinata a headache, but he already decided these physical pains meant nothing if Yuuta was happy.

“I’m the same aniki, through and through. Nothing is amiss~”

Yuuta dug his feet into the ground, preventing Hinata from pushing him anymore. He grabbed Hinata’s arm while he turned around and the tight grip made Hinata wince.

Instead of talking though, Yuuta stared at Hinata with a hard gaze, his eyebrows furrowed, and lips pursed into a straight line. Hinata tried to look away, but the desperation in his eyes guilted Hinata to stand still. He wanted to spill everything. He really wanted to be a good brother, but dark thoughts clouded his brain, choking him into silence.

The moment was broken when Hiyori appeared and dragged the both of them off to his dressing room, rambling about how he found the cutest outfits in the market the other day and that they would be perfect for the twins, either not realizing or choosing to ignore the tension that had built between the two of them.

Hinata changed into the clothes with a hazy mind, going through the actions but not remembering putting the new shirt on or even walking out of the concert venue to the afterparty.

The afterparty was a tame event: a hangout in the CosPro lounge with the other units. The older ones grouped together, and it sent a pang of envy through Hinata that he couldn’t be considered a part of the group. Taking a step back and looking at everything, Hinata felt the all too familiar feeling of isolation, the pressing question of _‘do I belong here?_ ’. Everyone was talking and laughing, having so much fun.

He wanted to join them and relish in the joys of being an idol after a grand debut. It was like standing with the ground split between them, and Hinata had no chance of jumping across that ledge to be with everyone.

But just as it was growing up, when Hinata looked to his side, Yuuta stood next to him. Not once for the whole night had he removed himself. He didn’t try to pry Hinata open again, only wordlessly standing next to his brother and observing the party-goings as well.

It struck Hinata then, that this was something indisputable. An unchallenged logic of life. Hinata Aoi would always have Yuuta Aoi by his side. 

Even if Hinata wanted him to go away.

Even if Hinata ran away like before, without fail Yuuta would be there to bring him back.

Even if Hinata ever found himself on a rooftop again, Yuuta would appear and coax him down.

Hinata was selfish. No matter how many times his mind argued that he did everything for Yuuta, not once did he ever consult Yuuta on these feelings. He couldn’t pretend anymore that he was upholding his promise, not when he was hiding everything again.

Yuuta mindlessly scrolled on his phone, and Hinata opened his mouth. The words caught in his throat, not that Hinata even had the words to say. Just feelings and wordless thoughts he didn’t know how to voice. His heart _hurt_ , and he needed to tell Yuuta.

He grabbed the sleeve of Yuuta’s sweater with a trembling hand. “Yuuta-kun…”

Hinata’s voice broke on the single word and it made Yuuta turn around with wide eyes. Hinata swallowed hard and stared at the ground. If he started crying in the middle of the party, then he’d really have a reason to feel inferior to everyone else here.

“Come on.”

Yuuta guided him out of the lounge and Hinata kept his eyes on the feet in front of him. He figured Yuuta would go to their dorm room but found that they were outside when a rush of cool air hit him. He glanced up and watched the back of his brother while he tugged him in the direction of a bench.

"Okay. Here we are.” Yuuta sat down and pulled Hinata down with him.

Hinata waited for him to say something else. A complaint about being dragged away from the party, a question about what Hinata was so worked up for, anything really. It never came though, so he forced something to come out of his mouth.

“It hurts,” he began. “Not as bad as before, I won’t ever do… that… again.” Hinata didn’t miss the way Yuuta’s face scrunched up when he mentioned Setsubun so he quickly moved one. 

“I keep thinking about 2wink and us being here. We have so many amazing seniors, and next to them I feel like I need to work even harder.” Hinata took a deep breath and tapped his fingers against his thighs. “That’s where I’ve been after school lately. I stay and practice until everything hurts, but I think I deserve it. That pain.”

“Why would you think that?” Yuuta’s voice shook, but his face held strong.

“I don’t know. I can’t verbalize it, but it’s like I need to be punished for something.” Hinata paused and thought for a moment. “Ah… ever since we moved out it’s been like that.”

This time Yuuta couldn’t keep a glare from crossing his features. “It’s because of that man then. We have a stable life now. We don’t… we don’t need to force hardships on ourselves. We worked hard for this, Aniki. We deserve _this_. Happiness.” Yuuta placed a hand on Hinata’s shoulder. “You most of all. You deserve to be happy.”

A dry laugh escaped Hinata before he could help it. He coughed over it and cleared his throat. “Sorry, knee-jerk reaction I guess.” 

“I mean it. Hinata-kun, you deserve happiness.”

“I…” He took a shaky breath, clenching his shaking hands into fists in his lap. “This is my dream, our dream. I want to succeed. I want,” a tear ran down his face and his voice grew raspy. “I want to be happy too.”

Yuuta wrapped an arm around Hinata’s shoulders and pulled him close, an action that Hinata had done more often than not growing up, and the reversed role made all the pain in Hinata well up in his eyes and spill over. He gave up trying to talk, all that he managed to voice was stuttered gasps, and he dug his head into Yuuta’s shoulder.

He hadn’t said much at all in total, but the mere act of _admitting_ any internal feeling was something Hinata still had to get used to. Hell, crying in front of Yuuta was a change of pace from the past few years where Yuuta had always been the one to cry. The last time Hinata had cried was years ago, after Mom died, and certainly not long after he decided to presume the role of the strong big brother. 

It was chilly outside, not as cold as Christmas time, but memories from years ago now filled his mind. Yuuta’s crying face, the cake spilled over the street. Hinata had thought then it was for the best if he went away, because if he did that then Yuuta could be happy. Yet, Yuuta found him and dragged him back.

Somehow, Hinata remained unconvinced of this fact. Throughout first year, he fell deeper and deeper into selfish self-sacrificing ideas that Yuuta would be happy if they were completely different. Everything came to a head during Setsubun when Hinata’s sadness overwhelmed him and he thought that it’d be better if he were gone in a more permanent way. Yet again, Yuuta was there to bring him back.

Hinata couldn’t keep believing in those thoughts anymore. When time and time again, Yuuta would be there next to him and bring him back home, Hinata had no choice but to accept that Yuuta cared about him. He couldn’t go finding any reason to break himself “for the sake of 2wink’s dreams” anymore. 2wink’s dreams weren’t just Yuuta’s dreams; it was both of their dreams.

Hinata’s eyes burned and his nose was runny, but after some unknown amount of time, he was all cried out. He rubbed at his face to wipe away the wetness, a dull headache forming behind his eyes. 

“Feel better?” Yuuta asked, his voice a bit nasally.

“Mhm. I do.” Hinata lifted himself up off the bench. “Hey, Yuuta-kun?”

Yuuta stood up next to him. “What?”

The nearest lights were the ones from the CosPro building yards away, so it was up to the moon and the stars to bring light onto the twins.

“I’m going to be better. I promise.”

“I trust you, Aniki.” Yuuta breathed out and the air clouded in the cold. Hinata realized how cold he was now, his body convulsed into shivering without him even realizing it.

“Gah! It’s freezing, let’s go back inside. Hey, you gotta tell me if my eyes are all red, cause if they are, we can’t go back to the party.”

“‘We?’ I can go back just fine,” Yuuta snickered while walking back towards the entrance.

Hinata caught up to him and elbowed his side. “No way! You cried just as much as I did. It’s just normal if people see you crying. It’s way too out of character for me.”

“Whatever. Do you really want to go back anyways?” Yuuta held open the door and Hinata strolled in, sighing in relief when warm air circled around him. He thought for a moment, then went to where the elevators were.

“Nah. Let’s just go back to our room and chill. I know I’ve had way too much excitement lately.” Hinata pushed the button to call the elevator.

They waited in silence, until a sick grin twisted on Yuuta’s face and he barely suppressed a laugh as he wrapped an arm around Hinata’s shoulder.

“Right~ You’ve been busy, haven’t you? We never did get a chance to talk about that morning with Hiiro-kun.”

Hinata’s face exploded with heat and he stuttered trying to come up with a response, only saved by the elevator arriving and quickly climbing in and hitting the button for their floor, then mashing the close door button.

“Aniki! Are you serious? I’m _right here_. There’s no way you can get the elevator to close on- Hey!” Hinata kicked Yuuta out of the elevator and continued mashing the close button. Yuuta had stumbled and was on the floor, his arms were around his stomach and his laughter filled the lobby and echoed through the empty room.

“This isn’t over!” Yuuta shouted right before the doors closed. 

Hinata knew it wasn’t over, but this kind of play fighting was something they did as kids, and he was in a sentimental mood. And maybe he was fueled a bit by the fact that thinking about Hiiro made his heart soar and energized him, but Yuuta would understand.

_Wait, would he? Oh my God. Yuuta-kun’s never mentioned if he’s had a crush before. Is this an experience I’m going through alone? Wait, okay. Yuuta-kun may have, or had, a crush and just forgotten to mention it? If that was the case, then how does he have any right to interrogate me!_

The elevator door opened and Hinata walked out with worried thoughts. Yuuta was already in the room, though he was breathing heavily so it was obvious that he sprinted up the stairs just to beat Hinata there. When he entered, Yuuta cleared his throat and smirked at him.

Hinata strolled in and flopped onto his bed, burying his head in the coolness of his pillows to soothe the heat he felt on his face. Knowing he would have to reply to his brother less he got something thrown at him, Hinata turned his head to the side so he could speak without being muffled by the pillows. “You know, nothing really happened that morning.”

“That’s a total lie! You guys couldn’t stop looking at each other all day. You had the sappiest smile on your face as you gazed longingly out the window.” Hinata dug his face into the pillow at his brother’s words. “Oh, come on. You can’t sit there and tell me you guys didn’t just promise to be together forever.”

“It wasn’t anything like that! You think if we were together, I’d still be so embarrassed all the time?” Hinata grumbled into the pillow and Yuuta snorted at his antics.

“Well, you are an embarrassing person.”

Hinata didn’t want to lose the shield his pillow was providing, but the urge to yeet it at his brother was overwhelming. 

“Really though, Aniki.” Yuuta hopped onto his own bed across from Hinata’s and sat criss cross. “What happened? Cause you can say nothing did, but you really did smile a lot that day.”

Hinata worried his lip as he thought back to Hiiro’s words. He tried to explain to Yuuta what happened that morning, but at some point, derailed to simply talking about Hiiro in general. His eyes, his smile, the way he always somehow had a hand on Hinata whether it be an arm or a shoulder. He tried venturing back to explaining the morning, but it made Hinata remember the feeling of Hiiro’s hand in his own and the moment shared between them, and them alone.

Yuuta listened to Hinata’s rambles with a smile, and when Hinata finally began to taper off, he asked just one question.

“So, you _do_ admit you have a crush on him, right?”

Hinata closed his eyes and with a sigh, he fell back on his bed as if he were on Cloud Nine. 

“Yeah… I do have a bit of a crush on Hiiro-kun.”

* * *

After admitting his worries to Yuuta, Hinata found that he was breathing easier, no longer carrying the weight of self-imposed responsibility and denial of feelings. 2wink would always work as two-in-one, and Hinata had meddled with that balance too many times now; it was time to accept this future of working on equal footing and move on from the past.

They would always be different from their peers, but Hinata could no longer hide behind this excuse while pushing away the one who did understand him. Laughing and playing with his friends, no longer to keep up a guise of a cheerful personality, but because Hinata loved his friends. 

Anxieties that plagued him days earlier and made it hard to sleep dissipated and all those problems were small and trivial, given ego only because it was kept inside of Hinata. However, one problem did remain, and arguably the most terrifying of them all.

The issue of Hinata’s _crush_.

Talking to Hiiro didn’t get any easier since admitting he had a crush on his classmate, but Hinata would argue there was improvement since instead of wanting to throw hands with Hiiro, he much rather wanted to kiss him. Still, Hinata couldn’t help that whenever Hiiro looked at him too long or engaged in a casual touch, Hinata’s heart would pound like it wanted to escape out of his chest.

Despite his fears that a confession would spill from his lips, Hinata made no effort to avoid Hiiro, and if anything their interactions increased. Searching for beetles in the morning, eating lunch together during break, and chatting after school, only for Yuuta to drag Hinata away to go practice. It was embarrassing how easy it was to lose track of time talking to Hiiro, but Yuuta wasn’t all that bothered, saying he was happy to see Hinata smiling so much.

If Hiiro realized Hinata was a lovestruck fool, he made no comments about it and he reciprocated Hinata’s newfound energy. Days passed of this new dynamic and Hinata enjoyed the rhythm they were in. Comfortable, predictable, and still indulgent enough for his youthful heart.

And then Hiiro made a request. Or, not a request, because this was something offered to him by Yuuta weeks ago, but it was surprising that he remembered at all.

It was the morning after 2wink had a photoshoot from a CosPro promo, so Hinata’s nails were freshly painted an even coat of pink, and he and Hiiro were walking around in the garden, though Hiiro hadn’t made any attempt to find any beetles thus far. 

“Hiiro-kun, are you good?” Hinata couldn’t help but ask. He knew that this was a fun hobby for the other boy, so he was curious as to the sudden disinterest.

At Hinata’s question, Hiiro’s head raised from where he had been studying their feet, a curious shade of red dusting his cheeks.

“I’m fine,” he said, “why do you ask?”

Hinata remained silent and squinted his eyes at Hiiro, watching him look back down and start fidgeting with his hands. Neither of them spoke, and after a few seconds Hinata was about to break the silence since there was no reason Hiiro _had_ to explain what was bothering him, but before Hinata could say anything, Hiiro’s hand reached out and pulled Hinata’s hand up to his face.

A squeak escaped past Hinata’s lips and his instincts made him want to pull away, but he forced his hand to go limp in Hiiro’s grasp as he looked at it.

“Hinata, this is so cool.” His fingers stroked across Hinata’s nails, admiring the smooth pink polish. “Sorry, it’s been distracting me all morning.”  
Deep breaths Hinata, come on. Don’t act like some lame teenager in some cheap movie that can barely look the love interest in the eye. It’s time to act cool, suave, sweep Hiiro off his feet and instead of being the one that’s flustered all the time.

“My nails?” Hinata’s voice cracked and he was certain the dryness in his throat would make him choke more, and honestly it’d be a blessing to suffocate and die. He felt like a weight of bricks had been set on his chest with how pitiful he was acting. Two words and he couldn’t even say them right.

Hiiro took no mind of Hinata’s dilemma and continued running his fingers across them. “Yes, they always look nice, but today they’re extra shiny.” His eyes rose to meet Hinatas but his fingers lingered on Hinata’s hand.

Friendly compliments were something Hinata was used to, even if most days he was teasing he still made it habit to encourage his friends, but there was something about the pinch in Hiiro’s eyebrows and the way he bit his lip that made Hinata think this could be something more than a friendly compliment.

Testing the waters wasn’t going to be easy, especially since Hinata already made a fool of himself with a prepubescent voice crack, but he grabbed Hiiro’s hand in both of his own and made a show of observing his nails.

“Hiiro-kun~ That offer to paint your nails is still on the table.” 

“Wait, really?!” Hiiro grinned wide but after a moment it fell off his face and he looked at the ground. “I wouldn’t be causing you any trouble? This stuff looks so hard to do and I don’t want you to hate me for being a bother or anything..” 

Hinata blinked and his hands squeezed Hiiro’s. “You wouldn’t be a bother at all. I enjoy painting nails and you’re my friend. Hey, Hiiro-kun, look at me,” Hinata waited until Hiiro’s eyes met his own again, “you don’t bother me, okay? Get those kinds of thoughts out of your head. I _want_ to do this.”

“Well, if you say so. Then, um,” Hiiro stumbled over his words.

“Tonight work for you? Just come to my dorm room since I have all my polish there.”

Hiiro laughed, one more breathy and strained than Hinata had heard before, not that he kept a mental list of the different types of laughs he had because that would maybe be a bit on the weird side.

“Yeah. I’ll see you then~”

* * *

“Hiiro-kun, you’re squirming way too much.”

“It tickles! I can’t help it.” Hiiro’s fingers twitched again and he pulled his hand back from Hinata’s grasp. 

It had only been around 10 minutes since Hiiro entered the dorm room and Hinata had ever so politely kicked Yuuta out before he could say a single word besides ‘goodbye’ to Hiiro as he walked out the door. Hinata had yet to lay a sliver of polish Hiiro’s fingers, as first things first he had to file them and fix up his cuticles, but it was turning out to be an impossible task as Hiiro flinched and moved about.

Hinata had spent the majority of these 10 minutes wrestling with Hiiro to try and keep him still, and Hinata knew a lost cause when he met one, all too familiar with those antsy feelings of being unable to sit still.

“Okay, okay. Let’s take a break.” Hinata set the file on the ground, next to the golden nail polish Hiiro picked out from the selection Hinata put together the night of their first meeting in the hallway after Hinata had gotten so mad he attempted to sharpen his nails into points.

Hiiro frowned and held his hand out again. “No, I can do it! I’ll stay still this time.” He made a show of using his other hand to grab his wrist and hold it in place, looking at Hinata with wide, hopeful eyes.

Ever since Hiiro entered the room, Hinata knew his heartbeat was much higher than its normal rhythm, and it was like the infatuated little organ was trying to beat in time to the excitement Hiiro radiated. Hinata didn’t mind the countless questions Hiiro asked about the process of doing nails; he thought Hiiro’s curiosity to this new world around him was nothing short of endearing.

It was also irresistible to give into those puppy dog eyes Hiiro had. When the boy wanted something, he made damn sure to make it obvious. So, with a sighing sort of dry laugh, Hinata picked up the nail file again and raised it to his nails. “Okay, Hiiro-kun. I promise the polish part won’t be as bad as this.”

There was still a twitch here and there, and a tensing in his muscles that screamed Hiiro wanted to pull away all while barely holding back snorts and giggles, but he remained mostly in place and Hinata finished the filing. Hinata expected more questions to come through as he picked up different tools, yet Hiiro remained quiet, observing Hinata’s hands and the polish now being applied to them.

Gold was good on Hiiro. This polish was one of Hinata’s best, one he maybe obtained illegally after wandering through a beauty store in the mall and saw how much it was and decided it was out of budget for him, but the store certainly wouldn’t miss it if one little bottle went missing.

“Your tongue is sticking out.” 

Hiiro’s words sent Hinata’s heart pattering like his cat back home when she smelled the cat treats bag being opened, and if not for the hours of practice Hinata had in doing nails, he would’ve faltered in his stroke and missed Hiiro’s nail.

“Yeah, I do that when I focus.” 

“It’s cute.”

Hinata was the one snapping his hands away this time, mouth dropping open and staring at Hiiro while his cheeks burned like a fire. Not just his cheeks- his whole face, his whole _body_ felt like it just got engulfed in a flame and each part of him was hot.

Hiiro, for his part, bit his lip and actually looked like he hadn’t meant to say that if the red rushing to his cheeks was anything to go by. Hinata expected an apology, some words of ‘oops, I’m sorry!’. He hoped for any words from the other boy because Hinata’s throat felt way too dry to try and get any words out.

“Well, I mean. Um. You’re always cute.”

The fire on his skin before was a mere candle, a small toasty campfire, compared to the raging inferno level 5 threat wildfire that burned through Hinata. 

“Wh- What?” Hinata licked his lips. Dry, way too dry. Also, he was unsure if there was some noise outside his room making a dull thrumming or if it was just his heart beating loud enough to pulse in his ears.

“I think you always look cute. I like looking at you. And talking to you, and I really like it when you smile. It makes me happy.”

Hinata’s hands were shaking and a voice in the back of his brain said he’d certainly mess up if he tried to resume painting Hiiro’s nails. That wasn’t important right now though, it was far from important. 

Right now, the most important thing was the nervous grin on Hiiro’s face, the way he was trying to maintain eye contact but kept looking away, and how his hand was rising to his face and-

“Ah. Don’t touch… your face…” Hinata had Hiiro’s wrist in his hand, having to lean closer and realizing maybe it was too close, maybe he was now the culprit of invading personal space. Hiiro didn’t lean back though, no attempts to escape from Hinata who now had his legs pressed against Hiiro’s criss-crossed ones. No, if anything Hiiro was leaning closer wasn’t he, his breath tickling Hinata’s nose. And Hinata was leaning closer too, feeling like a magnet that finally found its polar opposite and had no choice to be drawn forward.

Hinata felt the fire around him part and open up as Hiiro’s lips met his own. Kissing didn’t seem like a good idea right now, not when Hinata felt like he was suffocating and on the verge of a heart attack, but suddenly he understood how kissing someone could feel like getting life breathed into you. There was nothing on Hinata’s mind other than processing and committing to memory the sensations of his first kiss: the tiled floor underneath them cool against Hinata’s legs, Hiiro’s scent that Hinata couldn’t name and could only describe as the sun setting at 9pm on a hazy summer day, and the softness of Hiiro’s lips despite the hands cupping Hinata’s face and pulling him closer-

“Wait! Stop! Hiiro-kun!” Hinata pulled away with a gasp and ripped Hiiro’s wrists away from him.

Hiiro blinked, frozen for a moment, then his eyes widened and he leaned away from Hinata. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that- I- Hinata, I am-”

“No, no it’s fine. That was,” Hinata paused, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. “I had no problem with that. I _do_ have a problem with you ruining your nails though! They aren’t dry yet, you can’t go touching things or they’ll get messed up!”

“No problem with it…” Hiiro repeated the words, and Hinata nodded, letting go of Hiiro’s wrists. Hiiro stared at Hinata, his eyes flashing and a deep-chested laugh falling from his lips. “So, again? We can do it again?”

Hinata smiled, one big enough he felt it crinkle his eyes. “Yeah. We can do it again- _mmph!_ ” Hiiro was already moving at Hinata’s approval and unlike before, his lips met Hinata’s with force behind them and took his breath away. And again, Hinata felt fingers brushing his hair back and holding his head, and again Hinata grabbed them and pulled them away.

“Hiiro-kun! I didn’t mean right this second- if your nails are messed up I’m going to get mad y’know?” Hinata turned Hiiro’s hands over to look at the nails, and sure enough some of the painted ones were smeared and chipped. Hinata looked up and saw Hiiro shrinking away from him, and Hinata loosened his grip on his wrists. “Hey, I’m not actually mad, okay? It’s an easy fix, so just sit still so I can finish.”

“Sitting still is hard. I’d rather kiss you.” Hiiro’s voice came out high pitched and whiney and god help Hinata if he considered it cute.

Hinata ran his fingers along Hiiro’s arm. “Listen, if you sit still, I’ll reward you~” Emphasizing himself with a wink.

“Okay! I’m sitting still! I won’t move at all- I won’t even _breathe_!” Hiiro puffed his cheeks out as a show of holding his breath, drawing a giggle out of Hinata. He resumed painting and as much as he wanted Hiiro’s first time with nail polish to have a perfect style, Hinata rushed it just a little bit so they could start drying and then they could finish what they started.

The gold polish on Hiiro’s nails looked nice when they were entwined with Hinata’s and clashed against the pink on Hinata’s nails. He liked Hiiro’s hands holding his without the worry of when they would leave, because now Hinata knew they would stay clasped together for as long as he asked. He liked that when Hiiro’s nails finished drying, the first thing the boy did was mouth a thank you against Hinata’s lips, and he liked that he could let Hiiro’s hands explore holding him without worrying about the nails smearing.

Hiiro told Hinata near daily all the things he liked about him: hair, eyes, smile, patience.

And despite how much Hinata may have delayed the process, he was happy that he could requite these feelings now, though now he was past accepting that Hiiro was that stupid, evil, handsome boy he got a crush on, he now had to accept something else.

Hiiro Amagi is his lovably dense, passionate, still quite handsome, boyfriend.

And Hinata wouldn’t have it any other way.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading this!! This is my first long-fic (i've never written over 5k before www) so I know some parts may not make sense or be expanded on as much as one may like, but I am always over on [twitter](https://twitter.com/AOlHlNATA) and be happy to talk about this fic or 2wink in general! I like them a lot. I'd appreciate comments/kudos especially since this took a lot of work to write <3 Thank you!


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